Vicarious embarrassment

I'm Emily Couch.

There's a word in German called, and I'm going to do my best here, Fremdschämen.

It's literally translated as foreign shame.

Essentially, that feeling you get when you cringe on someone else's behalf.

There's a humor in it, yes, but also the realization that to be human is to be embarrassing.

And pretty soon, you'll be the one out there with your metaphorical fly metaphorically unzipped.

So on this episode, we're embracing the cringe with two stories that'll make you feel Fremdschämen.

First up is Sarah Finnegan, who told this at a New York City Story Slam [audience cheering] where the theme was comebacks.